Search - Artie Shaw :: Begin the Beguine

A surprise

Homer9600 | Northeast | 05/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have to say at the start I was suspicious of this box - 10-CD's from Germany, public domain recordings, transfers from 78 discs. Usually these things tend to have lots of noise reduction, processing and sometimes phoney-baloney fake stereo.



Not so with this box. I've gotten through about half of it and it is quite impressive. The transfers are generally good and whoever did the remastering used very little noise reduction, and left enough surface noise so that it doesn't detract from the music or deaden the sound. It actually is as good as some of the Chronologial Classics Shaw material I have. The tracks vary in quality based on the discs used for transfers but overall this is a good box. And at sixteen or seventeen bucks for 250 tracks of some of the greatest music ever recorded - well if you're disappointed after that then you may be a tad too critical.



I have a lot of Shaw and he had wonderful bands. This box set is as good or better than much of the recodings I have. I have seen this box retail for fifty dollars - beware you can get it a lot cheaper. There is no booklet and the CD's come in cardboard sleeves but the discs come out easily and they are in perfect condition



Not a bad find for so little."

Good Sound - A Ton of Great Music!

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 08/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection - which I own and have also given as a gift - surveys an enormous span of time, starting with some of Shaw's earliest band work and proceeding to showcase scores of recordings made with his many different groups over the next two decades. At the price it represents the best possible introduction to one of America's greatest popular musicians. By the end of the thirties Artie Shaw had come to symbolize America and American culture in the same was as Clark Gable or Mickey Mouse, and these musical selections show why.

Attempting to break down over 200 numbers with any sort of critical appraisal of their worth misses the point. A listener can rest assured there's a ton of gold here - with this many great recordings everyone can choose their own - many - favorites.

Of note - there are a number of recordings here of the underrated vocalist Peggy LaCentra - look for them on the earlier discs, especially the snappy "It Ain't Right" and the dreamy ballad, "There' Something In the Air." Her recordings are now difficult to find - so this must be counted a considerable bonus.

A later disc in this set has many of the Gramercy Five Sessions - landmark recordings similar in style to Goodman's small group recordings.

A can't miss purchase."

An amazing deal for some amazing music.

Hap | Santa Fe, NM | 11/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I do not know how nor why these CD's are so cheap. I am sure the fact they are packaged so simply has a great deal to do with it. The quality of the sound is very good to excellent. If you like the music of Artie Shaw this is one amazing deal. I looked into my Dance Band Discography and for the most part this music is packaged chronologically. You cannot go wrong buying this set."